I heart Artemis
virtual concert
Recorded March 17, 2022
Video: Christopher Andrew Studios
Audio: Charles Mueller
A Note on the Libretto
As a writer, I am drawn to stories from the past, seeking wisdom that I can apply to my own life and to world events. The stories of Greek and Roman mythology are known to illustrate the human condition, and as a result, many characters and their stories have made their way from classical scholarship into common parlance. However these stories don’t show the entirety of human experience. For example, important female characters—whether they be mortal or immortal—rarely interact without the focus of a male character, and if they act independently, without being the object of men’s desires, they are deemed to be virtuous virgins, seemingly without desires of their own.
My solution to this was to write new mythology: to reframe certain characters and stories from classical mythology in order to illustrate a different human condition—one pertinent to me and many others— that of queerness; in this case, women loving women. I also wanted this story to be universally relevant, its theme mirroring our current environmental crisis. When we humans created deities, we gave them authority over us and over the world in which we live, and in doing so abdicated our responsibilities as stewards of the planet. Will we now acknowledge responsibility for our situation? And if so, what will we choose to do?
I heart Artemis presents the figures of Athena and Artemis, two deities, one older and one younger, and imagines an intricate intimate relationship between them. To assist in rewriting these mythologies, I returned to the earliest female writing—indeed the earliest writing attributed to any author—by the Sumerian priestess and poet Enheduanna, whose devotional hymns provide a rich inspiration for this libretto.
— Maria Zajkowski, 2022
A Note on the Music
I have long admired the Baroque operas that used as their subjects the myths from Classical Antiquity. For I heart Artemis, our imagined myth, I wondered if I could create an imagined ‘Baroque’ music as well. In its completed state, the score for this work is a modest homage to that glorious epoch’s forms and harmonies, but I arrived there by quite a circuitous route.
I began with Athena’s symbol: the owl. Where I live in Australia, I frequently hear at night the simple and beautiful two-note call of the boobook (Ninox boobook). Taking this call as my starting point, I developed a motif consisting of pairs of notes, standing for Athena and Artemis. Then I worked on weaving the motif into patterns that cycle perpetually, often through rich harmony, so that the pairs of notes orbit each other like the twin stars of a binary system spiraling through the universe. Viewed this way, the patterns and their perpetual cycles struck me as a suitable vehicle to carry the story of immortal beings. The polyphony that the patterns created also reminded me of the interdependence of living organisms to each other and to their environment, and how the textures of biological diversity become thicker and thinner depending on the external pressures placed on them. By happy accident, the musical material that emerged had a somewhat Baroque flavor, though, due to the rigid restrictions imposed by the patterns’ rules, at times it could seem almost mechanical; in any case, both qualities appealed to me. And it was in this musical landscape—a little extravagant, a little austere—that we were able to place our characters and watch them experience love, fear, and hope.
It is a testament to the virtuosity of my collaborator Maria Zajkowski that, in spite of the constraints posed by the unforgiving machinery of the patterns, her libretto remains stunningly poetic and lyrical, making it, as always, a joy to set to music.
— Wally Gunn, 2022
Synopsis
Athena, Part 1 Athena is overseeing the Archaean soldiers’ siege of the city of Troy. Already long and bloody, the war has no end in sight and Athena despairs over the devastation and death caused in the name of honor. She imagines how the tale of the war will be recorded as the feats of kings and warriors, her part in the story obscured. Recognizing that the struggle and success of women is often drowned out by the clamorous battles of men, Athena decides that it is time for the whole truth to be told. Meanwhile, supporting the Trojan defense, Artemis also perceives the situation’s senselessness and calls on her sister deities for assistance, reciting an incantation of their names. Athena, with her gift of prophesy, can foretell that out of this turmoil, opportunity arises: women, through their honesty, courage, and power, will emerge from this imposed silence.
Mountain On Mount Olympus, the immortals are watching events unfold below. They see that Athena and Artemis will soon be tested, and when immortals are tested, consequences play out on the human stage.
Lake, Sky, Garden The war having taken a physical toll, Athena retreats to a magic lake known only to a few, seeking recovery in its restorative waters. She is surprised to see Artemis bathing there too. Perhaps it is the water’s enchanting effects, but for the first time Athena sees the youthful Artemis in a new light, and Artemis, similarly, discovers a new curiosity for Athena. That they were so recently in opposition on a battlefield is forgotten. Each ponders her separate experience, now shared, and each notices differences in the other that spark interest. The wisdom of the elder and the vitality of the younger find connection; their fascination ignites desire, and quickly gives way to passion and a profound euphoria. Athena and Artemis exist only for the eternity of the moment in their embrace, and the troubles of the earth and its restless mortal inhabitants fall away.
Mountain But the immortals on Mount Olympus see an approaching threat, warning that action must be taken by Athena and Artemis, whose attentions at this moment are solely for one another.
Catastrophe, Stag A soldier and his hounds unwittingly stumble upon the lake. A mortal man made mean by the privations of the war, he is driven by mortal men’s insatiable hungers and unquenchable thirsts. Unmoved by the lake’s transcendent beauty, he is drawn instead to the sight of a naked female figure in the water. He advances to find instead Athena and Artemis entwined, and his lust turns quickly to jealousy and then to disgust. Even before they notice him, Athena and Artemis feel something has changed: the waters, once sweet as wine, are soured. Incensed, they turn to face the intruder, and he realizes now that he stands before deities, but his disgust makes him indignant and bold, and he will not yield. His choice is a poor one. Athena and Artemis rise above the man in brilliant rage: Artemis in her fury turns him into a stag, forever to be hunted by his own hounds; Athena drives him from the lake with violent flashes of lightning.
Mountain The immortals of Olympus opine that mortals take too long to learn from their mistakes, erring over and over before true understanding arrives. Though answers lie before them, mortals often seem to turn their heads away.
Forest, Artemis Athena and Artemis, wrenched from their idyll, lament that the sanctity of their union was so thoughtlessly violated, and that the violation emanates out through the earth as exploitation and destruction, creating immense sorrow. They see clearly the grim future that looms and are conflicted by their role in it. Yet Artemis retains the inherent hope of youth, and refuses to give up her faith in nature and humanity’s ability to preserve it.
Mountain The immortals remind the mortals that deities preside to guide them, and that this guidance can be seen on earth in the myriad workings of life, its intricate and elegant actions, interactions, and consequences. As the moon guides the owl, they say.
Sun Athena beseeches humanity to remedy the problems they’ve created. She bids them to love the earth, just as she loves Artemis, and gives the assurance that out of dark ages will come light. The power of truth is greater than the power of destructive forces.
Athena, Part 2 At last, Artemis’ sister deities have arrived and are making themselves known to humanity: the mother, mystery, memory, the messenger, fate, nature, the soul, magic, virtue, youth, the light of day, justice, friendship, and unity. With these, their powerful gifts, they bring hope.
libretto
01
Athena
In other words
in her words
in other worlds
this is no dream
in my truth become immortal
What was unheard for centuries and what was taken
I was your chaos echoed below
in other worlds
The uncontained and discontent are now recorded in my words
out of the silence
the earthly story of her words echoed below
A truth reordered
alive and learned opens the future
A face unknown
no more supports the sky alone
You were my hunter
I am your chaos
for you I am not fallen
O Themis, O Philotes, O Homonoia
O Hebe, O Hemera
O Gaia, O Despoina, O Mnemosyne
O Iris, O Atropos, O Persephone
O Psyche, O Hecate, O Arete
This is no dream
this is our story
in our words
A flame returned, a heart revealed
a figure carved walks from stone
out of the background
The other world cannot contain in us the wild bell calling
Wake and be seen
in your hands we are immortal
The page reworded
the danger learned
raises Athena
I am your hunter
coming from chaos
you were my answer
In our words
the truth of Eros can’t contain us
Open your eyes
leave this hypnosis
this is no dream
this is immortal
After the lies of our Olympus
release the sentence
allow the choice of powers given
Now we are written
to make or ruin
02
Mountain
A launching sun
a reason clear
though you are free
but not released
no venture known
waits on its throne
there to be found
or to be born
03
Lake
A way out from the barren cause
the human contest
long and unmet
time of no time
solitude’s rippling calm
restore my night my day
Pain of trivia fall
soften and succumb
I enter my mirror
my relief
ankle thigh shoulder, all
light where darkness shines
Forget for me
what carries this ache
Hold as I have held
04
Sky
Against me
she has held
so many lives
for so long
between skies
the same breath
she finds
silver judgements lie
a single curve where
she is not
from salt
or air
Or air
from salt
she is not
where a single curve
the same breath
silver judgements lie
she finds
between skies
for so long
so many lives
she has held
against me
05
Garden
Remove my mask of intent
Sink my cries in your desire
Release exquisite torment
Bind me to your secret fire
So cool in your gardens
your naked opinion
the breast of the earth
it rises and falls
Your palace of shrines
how urgent the flames
in hope of the arch
I know you have woken
a crescent caress
Wash your feet in my sunset
surrender where a star burns
between us, ecstatic
the urge that our desire calls
to carry into darkness
06
Mountain
A turn of light
a crow of fear
a vandal might
refuse to hear
where bound’ries lie
you must defend
take up your bow
call fury in
07
Catastrophe
The sky is torn
the lake here shatters
Who comes to walk upside-down
over certain tears?
Whose law decides
to steal the light and eloquence
from tenderness?
Camouflage can’t hide
a man of no honour
The day dies
in front of our pleasure
But I don’t take my hair down for you
and I did not undress this for you
no I don’t lie and linger for you
But I did not create this for you
and I did not define it for you
no I don’t reach my reasons for you
Does beauty hurt
the body’s world
where lives beyond yours matter
The oasis sours
the truth of time despairs
your ruin throws a path
to avoid or conquer
Empty fists reveal
all hearts are what you take them for
A stealer so content
nothing is your everything
08
Stag
O destroyer
run
the rest of your days
as the hunted
Condemn your heart
as seasons fall
to fault and toil
in rivers of fear
The endless hounds
who chase you down
know the guilty
run
In shadow’s chance
run from the man
you used to be
now you are his trophy
09
Mountain
This is the day
the truth comes true
a moon ignored
contains no fools
lament just once
the human course
who lives with loss
is lost as well
10
Forest
Finish the prayer
to whom can we pray
The forest song will burn
and rivers fail
where waters bleed
Oh where is the truth to lie
Tomorrow falls
the sun decays
the song of an end is cried
And our broken spell
runs through my heart
to vanish through the vines and die
11
Artemis
Stratum, Solar, Sirocco, Sidereal, Selvas, Satellite, Salina, Sediment, Syzygy, Azimuth, Anchorage, Apogee, Alluvium, Abyssal, Brave west winds, Blossom showers, Braided stream, Banner cloud, Bathyal zone, Diurnal, Isthmus, Cuesta, Tropic, Element, Vapour
Am I free of time or am I the present
in this choice nothing lasts, like catching a current in the movement of seasons
I have learned nature makes these humours on purpose
Grasses high in memory’s eye come back to my rescue
too young or too old to ignore choices made or denied, untaken
now I know how the truth relates to distance
Softly called, now I’m more than ever so human
vision left me to sense every leaf, cypress breath, connecting to heaven
for an earth that will know the sky as ambition
Every step courage takes makes its own direction
just as I reconcile forces made across the winds of forests and secrets
I’ll carry a fortune for being your witness
12
Mountain
This wisdom falls
in mortal rain
learn more from men
than they alone
the owl remains
the mountain’s guide
where love is full
against the night
13
Sun
All time, all our time
A voice of sight
arises through the source
alight, though battles force you down, again
O faith, endure
the souls I’ve had before
accept or change the sun inside the heart (the storm) decides
Who hears the call within
a life, an aim reformed the dawn
a chain of breath restores a chance
The past, we know, is gone
and why this rite is what I’ll keep alive
when you ask of me the choice
I remain always as close to free
as our last wild hope,
Outside of the art, beyond the fear
so long as you are my sun, my air
I will not give up our truth,
securing our love, our dream
Now I can see our part
above the arc a sign begins to form
14
Athena
Gaia, Despoina, Mnemosyne
Iris, Atropos, Persephone
Psyche, Hecate, Arete
Themis, Philotes, Homonoia
Hebe, Hemera
Gaia, Despoina, Mnemosyne
Iris, Atropos, Persephone
Psyche, Hecate, Arete
Themis, Philotes
Homonoia
(O mother, O mysteries, and memory
O messenger, fate, and nature
the soul, magic, and virtue
wisdom, friendship, unity
youth, the light of day
O mother, O mysteries, and memory
O messenger, fate, and nature
the soul, magic, and virtue
wisdom, friendship
unity)
Thanks:
Albert H Maggs Composition Award, Ayeh Bandeh-Ahmadi, Alison Beare (Chief Executive Officer, UKARIA), Timothy Belknap, Katie Berta, Bowerbird, Edwina Buckley (University of Melbourne), Monika Burczyk (Co-Director and Manager of External Affairs, Millay Arts), Stuart Greenbaum (Chair, Albert H. Maggs Composition Award), Christopher Gunn, Patricia Gunn, Dustin Hurt, Icebox Project Space staff, Luke Keppich-Arnold, Svetlana Kitto, Gregory Kirkorian, Martin Lee, Prue Lewarne, Tash Marsh, Christopher McDonald, Jeremy McDonald, Marshall McGuire, Melbourne Recital Centre staff, Millay Arts, Charles Mueller, Calliope Nicholas (Co-Director & Manager of Residency Programs, Millay Arts), Elizabeth Riley, Sarah Romig, David B Smith, St James’ Old Cathedral, UKARIA Cultural Centre, Emma van Lierop (Business Manager, UKARIA), Andy Thierauf, Variant 6, Lisa Wardell (On-Site Manager, St James’ Old Cathedral), Reverend Canon Matt Williams (Vicar, St James’ Old Cathedral), Dong Ping Wong.
Special thanks:
The members of the Consort of Melbourne for their cooperation, consideration, dedication, and generosity, throughout the creation of this work. Members who workshopped early versions of the work: 2020.12.11 Creative Development 1, Melbourne, VIC, Australia: Katherine Norman, soprano; Kristy Biber, soprano; Hannah Pietsch, alto; Jenny George, alto; Miranda Gronow, alto; Ben Owen, tenor / baritone; Lucien Fischer, baritone; Steven Hodgson, bass; 2021.06.28 – 2021.07.02 Creative Development 2, Melbourne, VIC, Australia: Katherine Norman, soprano; Leonie Thomson, soprano; Kristy Biber, mezzo-soprano; Amelia Jones, mezzo-soprano; Robin Parkin, tenor; Alex Gorbatov, tenor; Steven Hodgson, bass. The members of Variant 6 for their tireless determination to realize the world premiere of this work despite many obstacles and setbacks: Jessica Beebe, Steven Bradshaw, Rebecca Myers, James Reese, Daniel Schwartz, Elisa Sutherland.
— Wally Gunn and Maria Zajkowski, 2022